Africa Solar Progress: The Next Solar Frontier?

Africa is a gold mine, actually and figuratively. Providing necessary sources for the worldwide clear power transition, Africa additionally has nice potential for renewable power improvement. By 2023, the continent can have 62.11 GW of renewable power capability put in, a quantity that would enhance considerably with extra funding.

Africa as a continent – and certainly, most African international locations – has a better PV sensible potential than China (3.88 kWh/kWp/day), Japan, the UK, and the Global common (4.19 kWh/kWp/day) . Therefore, Africa – in precept – is one of the best frontier to develop extra power in solar energy. In this weblog, we discover photo voltaic developments in Africa and its prospects as the following photo voltaic frontier.

Huge Untapped Solar Potential

The African continent has loads of potential wind, photo voltaic, hydro, and geothermal power sources. Central and Southern Africa are wealthy in minerals wanted to supply electrical batteries, wind generators, and different low-carbon applied sciences. According to a Renewable Energy Market Analysis report by IRENA, Africa has a photo voltaic PV technical potential of seven,900 GW. In addition, the continent has nice potential for hydropower (1,753 GW) and wind energy (461 GW). Some areas of Africa even have geothermal and trendy bioenergy potential. However, Africa’s photo voltaic potential is extraordinary.

According to World Bank knowledge analyzed by Statista, Africa has the most important photo voltaic power potential on this planet. This is the one area the place a measure indicating “excellent situations for solar energy” excels. Africa’s 4.51 kWh/kWp/day surpassed Central and South America’s 4.48, with North America following at 4.37. To put this in context, roughly 20 p.c of the world’s inhabitants lives in 70 international locations with “excellent situations” for solar energy, which is greater than 4.5 kWh/kWp per day. On a continental foundation, solely African international locations collectively averaged above this threshold.

While the potential is basically untapped in lots of much less developed international locations on the continent, the World Bank’s Global Solar Atlas, whose knowledge was analyzed by Statista, nonetheless describes Africa’s photo voltaic potential as a singular alternative to supply inexpensive, dependable, and sustainable. electrical energy to those that want higher high quality of life and financial alternatives.

What’s Keeping the Continent from Realizing Its Solar Potential?

Financing stays a major impediment on Africa’s path to renewable power management, particularly in photo voltaic power. Over the previous twenty years, Africa has acquired solely 2 p.c of world funding in renewable power, highlighting the good disparity within the area. Relying on grants and support has extra issues, as these sources typically don’t promote one of the best know-how investments or suppliers.

A 2021 report by the IEA, in collaboration with the World Bank and the World Economic Forum, says that annual funding in clear power in rising markets and growing economies ought to enhance by sevenfold by 2030—from lower than USD 150 billion in 2021 to greater than USD 1 trillion—to place the world on monitor to realize net-zero emissions by 2050.

Africa holds roughly 60 p.c of the world’s main photo voltaic sources however accounts for just one p.c of world photo voltaic technology capability. To meet present power and local weather targets, the continent wants an annual funding of USD 190 billion between 2026 and 2030, with two-thirds of this funding directed to scrub power initiatives.

Solar Power to Create

The World Bank, IEA and different companions together with the United Nations have lately referred to as for developed economies to supply extra assist to develop the power sector and renewables in growing economies equivalent to in Africa.

North Africa

North Africa – comprising Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, and Sudan – stands because the continent’s largest power market. The area, excluding Sudan, is characterised by notable socio-economic improvement, industrialization, and entry to trendy power. With one of many highest photo voltaic potentials on this planet, Northern Africa has a median annual photo voltaic irradiance of greater than 2000 kWh per sq. meter per 12 months, with standout international locations together with Egypt and Morocco.

While investments must be extra evenly distributed, most are at the moment concentrated in Morocco and Egypt. Morocco’s Noor photo voltaic challenge and Egypt’s Benban photo voltaic challenge present the area’s energetic push for photo voltaic development. Morocco is more and more main the way in which to grow to be the area’s photo voltaic powerhouse. Last 12 months, Morocco launched a challenge to develop renewable power within the Western Sahara area with a large funding of 20 billion dirhams (USD 1.95 billion). The nation additionally introduced plans to extend funding by USD 1.4 billion yearly from 2023 to 2027, aiming to finish roughly 1.3 GW of renewable power capability yearly throughout this era.

Together, Morocco and Egypt are anticipated so as to add round 35 GW of photo voltaic by 2030. Several corporations, equivalent to AMEA Power, ACWA Power, Scatec Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA), and the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy ( MASEN), the motive force of those developments.

South Africa

Similarly, the decrease half of the continent can be trying to exploit the large potential of photo voltaic power, of which South Africa is especially distinctive. Leading not solely the southern a part of the continent however the entire of Africa, South Africa has a photo voltaic power capability of about 7.8 GW, excluding residential photo voltaic, by 2023—nearly equal to the mixed capability of different African international locations.

By 2023, South Africa will set up 79 p.c of all new photo voltaic capability on the continent, including nearly 3 GWp from a complete of three.75 GWp. For two consecutive years, 2022 and 2023, South Africa will see the most important enhance in photo voltaic installations in African historical past. Looking forward, the nation’s photo voltaic power sector is poised for vital development, with an anticipated market growth of $3.74 billion between 2023 and 2028.

Continent at Risk: Investments Must Be Fast

Despite contributing solely 4 p.c of world greenhouse gasoline emissions, Africa is likely one of the most weak areas to local weather change. The continent faces challenges equivalent to water shortage, diminished meals manufacturing, extra excessive climate occasions, and diminished financial development, resulting in mass migration and instability within the area. .

The international rating of “local weather resilience” of 136 international locations by the consultancy Henley and Partners positioned eight African international locations on the backside. Africa suffers the consequences of local weather change as a consequence of emissions from wealthy international locations, which rating increased on the local weather resilience checklist. The United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom are ranked as probably the most resilient to local weather change.

With almost 675 million folks in Africa—80 p.c of whom dwell in sub-Saharan Africa—with out entry to electrical energy, harnessing the continent’s potential is important. Solar panel know-how, at USD 995/kW, is the most cost effective of all renewable applied sciences. South Africa and Egypt have the most important photo voltaic capability, adopted by Algeria. According to the World Bank, by 2030, photo voltaic mini-grids will present high-quality, uninterrupted energy to 380 million folks.

While solar energy can assist Africa scale back emissions and develop entry to electrical energy, the continent continues to be within the early levels of constructing its photo voltaic infrastructure. Africa’s photo voltaic sources grew by 13 p.c from 2019 to 2020, with 9 p.c of its whole electrical energy now coming from renewable sources, largely from hydropower. Solar’s journey into the mainstream has been gradual, hampered by many years of reluctance to undertake the brand new know-how.

This reluctance has locked many African international locations into high-carbon power, spending as much as six instances extra to subsidize fossil gasoline consumption than they did below the Paris Agreement.

However, the proper insurance policies and rules can assist decrease the price of photo voltaic improvement, appeal to cheaper financing, and encourage non-public funding. According to the World Bank, official improvement help will assist drive photo voltaic to grow to be the world’s most generally used power supply within the subsequent three years. Indeed, photo voltaic improvement in Africa has the potential to grow to be the following photo voltaic frontier.

By Yash Singh